Greggs to convert Birmingham bakery into ‘logistics centre of excellence’

Ashley Williams
· 20 January, 2017

High street bakery chain Greggs has revealed plans to convert its bakery in Birmingham into a distribution centre.

The business has entered a consultation period with staff at the site, which it has proposed transforming into a ‘logistics centre of excellence’.

Greggs described the move as the next phase of a five-year, £100m investment in its supply chain that was announced in March last year.

“This will increase and reshape our manufacturing and distribution capabilities, and enable us to support shop expansion substantially to more than 2,000 shops, as we continue to compete effectively in the growing food-on-the-go market, the spokesperson said.

Greggs operated 1,764 shops as of 31 December 2016.

“We are not closing our site in Birmingham,” stressed the business. “The logistics centre of excellence has the capacity to serve over 400 shops.”

Greggs closed its bakery in Twickenham in November and opened a new distribution centre in Enfield, which it said was operating well.

News of the plans comes in the week Greggs announced a 7% increase in group sales in the year to 31 December 2016, which included its 13th consecutive quarter of like-for-like growth.

In this week’s trading statement, Greggs said it plans to continue to invest in developing its supply chain in the coming year.

“Whilst we will undoubtedly see a number of well-documented industry headwinds, we are confident we will continue to make progress with the implementation of our strategic plan, including significant investment in our capability to supply a growing shop estate,” added chief executive Roger Whiteside.